Key Elements of a Successful Deployment
An understanding of the key elements of a successful SMS deployment is important as you plan your deployment and configuration. Incorporate these elements into your plan. Practice these recommended strategies during the pilot project and during the actual implementation of SMS. Deploying SMS to the production environment shares many characteristics with deploying SMS during the pilot project. You should use the pilot project to validate the deployment and configuration plan that you create. The pilot project is described at the end of this chapter.
The key elements to a successful SMS deployment are listed here.
On This Page
Communicate to Managers and Administrators Throughout the Deployment
Schedule Major SMS Activities for Nonpeak Hours
Inform and Educate Your Users About SMS Before Deploying It
Document the Installation Steps
Include Risk Management in Each Phase
Pay Attention to Detail
Schedule Resources
Configure SMS Properly and Document the Effects of Configuration Changes
Test Your Design and Implementation in a Test Lab and Pilot Project
Create and Document a Backup and Recovery Plan
Communicate to Managers and Administrators Throughout the Deployment
While you are deploying and configuring SMS, inform the project manager and all appropriate personnel at each phase of deployment. Inform network administrators and Active Directory® administrators about your site installation schedule and the active network links that will be affected during the installation so that they are prepared for any surges in network activity. Inform your help desk staff in advance of any SMS installations, so that they are prepared for questions or problem reports from end users.
Schedule Major SMS Activities for Nonpeak Hours
Minimize the effect of the deployment by carefully scheduling major SMS activities for nonpeak hours. For example, if your plan includes deploying secondary sites over slow or unreliable links, you should schedule these deployments to occur after critical business hours. Also, if one group of users is in the midst of completing a major project or deadline, consider waiting to deploy SMS to that group until their project is finished.
Inform and Educate Your Users About SMS Before Deploying It
Develop an information and training strategy for users in your organization, and test the strategy on the users in your pilot group. By educating users about SMS functionality, you can alleviate any privacy concerns they might have about running the SMS client on their computers.
Document the Installation Steps
Each administrator who is involved in deploying SMS sites should use procedural documentation as a guideline and checklist. Creating this documentation is part of the planning process. In your deployment and configuration plan, include step-by-step instructions for setting up and configuring the operating system (if necessary), Microsoft SQL Server(tm), SMS 2003, Internet Information Services (IIS), and other necessary components that are outlined in the "Getting Started" chapter. Test the documented plan in your lab and during the pilot project. Revise the plan as needed when you test it so that you can successfully implement the plan when you deploy SMS in your production environment. Your plan revisions might involve modifying the deployment steps described in the "High Level Planning" section earlier in this chapter.
Include Risk Management in Each Phase
Be sure you analyze the risks that are introduced at each phase of the pilot project. To avoid risks, you must exercise change control and management. Potential risks are described in Chapter 7, "The Pre-Planning Phase." Keep your project plan document updated with identified risks and results at each phase. This information will be valuable to you later, when you implement SMS in your production environment.
Pay Attention to Detail
The simplest logistical details must be planned for any enterprise-wide software deployment. Otherwise, something as seemingly insignificant as a lost key to your server room can cause your deployment to fail. Prepare a checklist of the logistical details of each site deployment, and include items that your administrator must be prepared for, such as:
Server room access codes or keys.
Emergency contact phone numbers and working communication devices.
Problem escalation plan.
Any electrical or other wiring work required in the server room before deployment.
Server rack reorganization, if necessary.
Location of the SMS installation media.
Required system password information.
Log book for recording installation and site configuration information, problems, and results.
Schedule Resources
In the pre-planning phase, the project manager creates a team of SMS administrators with varying roles. Planning your deployment requires scheduling the assigned administrators to perform their roles in the pilot project, site deployment, site configuration, and client deployment. If you do not secure resources early in the project, your SMS deployment will be at risk. Scheduling resources might include arranging for long-distance transportation and accommodations in other regions. Ensure that your support and administrative teams are properly trained and prepared for the deployment. For more information, see Chapter 7, "The Pre-Planning Phase."
Configure SMS Properly and Document the Effects of Configuration Changes
Ensure that you plan to configure SMS properly so that it does not unnecessarily load the network during deployment. Be especially careful when you configure components, such as Network Discovery and inventory, which could use substantial bandwidth or disk space. For example, do not configure any network-intensive feature for a brief interval on a busy network. Consider the business reasons you have defined for using particular SMS features. For example, if inventory reports are not required to run and be revised on a daily basis, then you do not configure inventory to run on a daily basis.
Document the effects of each configuration change in your project plan. For more information, see Chapter 15, "Deploying and Configuring SMS Sites."
Important:
- Enable SMS features in a controlled manner. Avoid enabling multiple features simultaneously, which can cause unexpected network bandwidth consumption and result in a loss of productivity in your organization.
Test Your Design and Implementation in a Test Lab and Pilot Project
As you plan your deployment, it is important that you test configuration variations and deployment scenarios in your test lab environment on an isolated network in your organization. Not testing can result in undesirable results in your production environment at deployment time.
Do not set up your test lab in your production environment, and do not install SMS on any of your production servers before installing it and working with it in your test lab. Because site codes and server names are registered in Windows® Internet Name Service (WINS), be sure to reserve special names to use in your test lab. Do not use these again in your production environment. Ensure that your test lab closely replicates your proposed production environment. For information about setting up a representative test lab, see Chapter 7, "The Pre-Planning Phase."
Later, conduct a pilot project to deploy SMS to a small fraction of your production environment, and then monitor the results. The pilot project verifies that your SMS design is valid, and that the testing of that design is valid. For more information, see the section entitled "The Pilot Project," later in this chapter.
Create and Document a Backup and Recovery Plan
Incorporate backup and recovery preparation into your SMS deployment plan. A solid backup plan enables you to recover more quickly and easily if you encounter any problems during the deployment. Test these plans in your test lab and pilot project. For more information, see Chapter 13, "Planning for Backup and Recovery."
For More Information
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